The invention relates to LED exterior and street luminaires, which have a uniform and identical basic composition that can be used for a variety of power ratings and are employed for different lighting purposes.
According to the known prior art, the problem with LED exterior and street luminaires is that the use of identical design lines for different power ratings still necessitates different housings, and heat sinks that, internally, are separately adapted to each type of luminaire, for the LED assemblies. By way of example, refer to the luminaire generation made by Aton Lichttechnik (data sheets: Classic Maxi ECO, Classic Standard ECO and Classic Compact ECO). The situation is similar with other manufacturers.
Such an adaptation of particular luminaires to specific conditions, or lighting requirements, however, entails considerable manufacturing, design and stock-keeping complexity.
An LED lighting device is furthermore known from DE 20 2009 004 191 U1. The luminaire housing is made of continuous aluminum profiles, which only for reasons related to manufacturing costs is divided into three parts that have a separation on the longitudinal side (two lateral lamp shells and one central lamp shell). The profiles, serving as the housing, are thus designed continuously and in one piece across the two functional spaces, such that no thermal separation is ensured between the two functional spaces, which are the lamp shell for the LED luminous elements and the lamp shell for the operating devices and terminal space. Heat can thus flow unimpaired between the two functional spaces via the profile material. Thermal separation by way of the housing is thus not ensured, despite the central separating wall in the overall receiving space of the profile housing described. A further disadvantage is the generally undesirable exterior cooling fins, which present a decrease in the self-cleaning effect, such that the heat dissipation efficiency is decreased over time as a result of soiling. The described solution furthermore has the disadvantage that only a side-mounted installation on poles is possible, and no adjustment option whatsoever exists for upward or downward inclination of the luminaire head. Installation on pole tops is not possible at all. As a result, with this solution, lighting-related requirements with regard to the particular illumination task can be achieved only conditionally.
Solutions are also known from U.S. Pat. No. 2,924,436 A and DE 20 2006 010 949 U1, which describe adaptable and replaceable cooling plates or heat sinks for heat transfer to the ambient air.
The disadvantage of U.S. Pat. No. 2,924,436 A is that a solution for ceiling mounting is introduced, the design and technology of which are not suitable for exterior and street luminaires. In particular, there is a need for heat dissipation, and the cooling plates can be cooled by way of water lines.
DE 20 2006 010 949 U1 describes a different embodiment of heat sinks on the outside of a street luminaire, for example. The key here is essentially a plurality of cooling fins, which can be disposed in a variety of manners or detachably connected to a frame, serving as part of a luminaire housing, and in general are disposed on the upper face of a frame. The main drawback of this solution is the embodiment of the cooling elements in the form of cooling fins, and the arrangement thereof on the upper face of the luminaire. The design of the luminaire is adversely affected by the required height of the fins and the arrangement thereof on the upper face, and by the aforementioned problem of a limited self-cleaning effect.
The document US 2013/0148360 A1 is also known, which describes an LED lighting device comprising solutions for improving waterproofing performance. An essentially one-piece housing is described, having water drain contours on the upper face. Despite an apparent internal subdivision of the spaces for the LED assembly and for the assembly for the operating device and terminal connection components using a separating wall, no effective thermal separation exists to suppress the heat flow within the housing between these two spaces. Additionally, the designs and the geometries of described housings are so narrowly defined that a modified outside geometry is not possible while keeping the system technology the same. Furthermore, due to the fin-like surface structures, disadvantages again arise in terms of the self-cleaning effect, which practical users value highly. Moreover, once again, only pole-side mounting is possible, without the option of adjusting the angle of inclination.
Furthermore, document US 2014/0049961 A1 is known, which describes a further street luminaire for exclusive pole-side mounting. Optimal heat dissipation for the LED system is to be achieved here by maximal contact of the LED operating space in the front, rear and lateral regions with the circulating ambient air. Paragraph [0027], in particular, describes various embodiments of the configuration of the housing frame, which substantially thermally separates the LED module, together with the casing thereof, spaced at various distances from the portion of the housing for the LED drivers and wiring, so as to create a maximum surface for the ambient air flow.
The disadvantage here is the complicated overall construction of the luminaire housing at hand, which is provided with a large number of apertures and fins, which thus departs to a high degree from the object of the solution claimed in the present invention of implementing a single-piece luminaire head having a uniform design appearance. This solution, once again, has the disadvantage that the surfaces comprising high fins soil over time, and that the outside geometry is inalterably established by the housing design.
Furthermore, the known document US 2012/0262917 A1 describes a street luminaire comprising a single-piece luminaire housing having sections for the LED system and the operating device and terminal space (see paragraph [0062] therein) which are spatially separated on the inside. The outwardly extending fins serving as cooling elements are integrally formed with the luminaire housing (see paragraph [0047] therein). The LED module, serving as the light source, uses a dedicated optical chamber having its own enclosure, which can be integrated into the provided installation space and, due to the separate design, is independent and replaceable.